I never thought I'd say it is a pleasure to drop my kids off at childcare, but it is. I drive off to work knowing that my kids are not merely waiting for my return, but learning, growing, and thriving at Gretchen's House.
Gretchen graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a Bachelor's Degree in education. She provided day care in her home for five years when her own children were preschoolers. In 1982, She opened the first Gretchen's House in the Eberwhite neighborhood. Since then, Gretchen's House has grown to
seven centers in Ann Arbor, one in Oakland County, and one in Houghton, Michigan
on the campus of Michigan Technological University.
Throughout her career Gretchen has been active in the early childhood community, both locally and at the national level. She has been a validator for NAEYC's accreditation program for several years and has served on local professional groups, as well as boards for Child Care Information Exchange and the current Washtenaw Citizens Advisory Council for Family Court.
Gretchen says, "I enjoy working with early childhood professionals within Gretchen's House
and the greater community. Improving the quality of our programs is at the core of everything we do at Gretchen's House.
Seeing this happen gives me great satisfaction."[back to top of
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Michele Davis
is the Human Resources Director for Gretchen's House. Her job involves
recruiting, interviewing, and hiring staff for all Ann Arbor locations. Michele
has a Bachelor's Degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology with a minor in
Psychology from Western Michigan University. When she first came to work for
Gretchen in 1990, Michele was an afternoon teacher at GH-Traver. She also taught
in the Infant/Toddler program at GH-W.I.S.D. for four years and later moved to
GH-Mt. Pleasant, where she was Center Director for six years. Michele is the
mother of three children, all of whom are "Gretchen’s House alumni." In her
spare time, Michele enjoys attending her children’s extracurricular activities
and sporting events, snowmobiling, canoeing, camping, and spending time with
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Lorraine Hergenreder
has been Payroll and Benefits Manager
(150+ employees) for Gretchen's House, Inc. since 1998. She began working for Gretchen in 1988 as the center director for GH-Stadium, back when there were only three centers! Lorraine moved into an administrative position in 1993 after the birth of her daughter, Emma. Lorraine has a Bachelor's Degree in Individual and Family Studies with an Emphasis in Infant Development from Pennsylvania State University, with a minor in business administration. Originally from Western Pennsylvania, Lorraine enjoys vacationing, camping, skiing, and snowmobiling.
She lives in Chelsea with her husband, daughter, two very large
dogs, two cats and one tiny hamster. Lorraine celebrated her 20th year with
Gretchen's House in 2008! [back to top of
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Operations ManagerLisa Lemble joined Gretchen's House in 1997 when the need for an additional administrator had become clear--just before construction began on GH-Oak Valley. Lisa is responsible for all Information/ Technology purchasing and maintenance, oversees purchasing and accounts payable, and is an all-around trouble shooter and problem solver for the centers. Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Lisa received a Bachelor of Arts degrees in Geography and German from Michigan State University. In 1981, she served in the federal VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program in Nebraska in 1981, where she then spent nine years as an urban planner, followed by seven years working locally with a real estate attorney before being lured away to join the Gretchen's House staff.
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Executive DirectorHeidi McFadden graduated from Depauw University in Greencastle, Indiana with a BA in education. She's worked in the early childhood field since 1984 as a teacher, program director, and director of NAEYC accredited programs. Heidi has been with Gretchen's House since 1992--first as the Director of GH-Stadium, then as Director of GH-Oak Valley when it opened in 1998. She started her current position in the fall of 2002. As Executive Director, Heidi works with a variety of people and situations everyday. She enjoys coordinating staff development projects and working with the center directors when they need support and feedback. Heidi says being at the centers every day allows her to see the direct impact that our programs have on children and families. She gets satisfaction from knowing we provide an important service in our community.
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Director of CurriculumBeth MeLampy has
worked in the early childhood community in Ann Arbor since 1984 and has been
with Gretchen's House since 2007. Beth has a Bachelor's degree in
Education with a minor in Psychology from the University of Michigan. She has been a Validator for the National Association for the
Education of Young Children's accreditation program. Beth frequently presents
workshops--locally for programs such as the University of Michigan’s brown bag
lunch series and Eastern Michigan’s Student Teacher Conference, and nationally
for the Michigan AEYC and the Denver Department of Education--on many topics
including child development, creative curriculum, storytelling and a variety of
parenting issues.[back
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Curriculum Consultant Hope Vestergaard wears a variety of hats in her work with Gretchen's House. She edits
the website, writes brochures and informational flyers such as the Purple Pages and Active Learning Brochures, and conducts occasional staff and parent workshops. An Ann Arbor native, Hope returned to Ann Arbor after graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Smith College. She started as a teacher at GH-Stadium
in 1993, and worked as a Head Teacher, Assistant Director, and finally Center
Director until 1999. Hope is also an author. Her latest picture book,
I Don't Want to Clean My Room, was recently published by Dutton Children's Books.
She has also written an emergent curriculum book for Redleaf Press: Weaving the
Literacy Web: Building Curriculum Around Books Children Love. Visit Hope's website: www.hopevestergaard.com to learn more about early literacy.
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